When We Met (WWM)
by LoveActually-rps
Summary: Derek Hale is a damaged Beta, who has been having a miserable life. But he is about to meet an Omega - chatty, irritating, almost eighteen – Stiles Stilinski. And they both are going to start a journey together, which is going to change, influence and evolve their lives…inside out. (ABO dynamics, soulmate AU)
1. Damaged

Damaged...

That's what they've called him.

Derek's fingers fumbled with his tie in an attempt to loosen it, but the knot kept getting more and more tangled because he kept pulling the wrong end.

'We won't vote for a Damaged Beta as a Chairperson,' Harris' voice continued to ring in Derek's ears like an irritating bell. He had just returned home from the meeting with the management committee of Hale Enterprise. The agenda was to select the nominations for next Chairperson of the company, after his father's death a week back.

Last week was the darkest week of Derek's life, including the Hale Fire and even 'Paige's death'…or maybe 'Paige's Death' would be a tough competition, though, considering that incident had changed his fucking life.

That had made him…Damaged.

Everything was jumbled in Derek's mind all at once. He tried to separate each thread.

Paige's Death

Derek was fifteen and dating Paige. Why not? Neither of them would know their soul mates, at least for three years, when they turn eighteen.

That was some kind of werewolves' genes system, that they would start getting hints about their soul mate only once they were of age.

So there was no harm in just getting to know each other, right?

Paige was an Omega werewolf.

A beautiful, unmated omega and Derek felt lucky to have her by his side. She was a strong, level headed person, unlike other omega werewolf girls and boys, who wanted to mark him (maybe do something more) just to get attached to his famous family name – the Hale pack.

They were happy together. They were one of the most popular, most beautiful, most compatible couples at their school.

Derek wished sometimes that his life could have just frozen there and never start ticking again.

Derek was dropping her off at home one night after their study date. They took the long route through the preserve to spend some extra time together. It wasn't after-curfew hours, but still late, when a rogue alpha suddenly jumped in front of them from out of nowhere. The alpha sniffed the air and hungrily focused on Paige. The sweet smell of a raw, unmated Omega must be alluring for him.

Claiming an underage, unmated, unwilling Omega was the most punishable offense as per werewolves' law, but who the hell was going to teach the law to the violent Alpha on the night of a full moon?

Like a reflex action, Derek moved between Paige and the Alpha, but he was just a Beta and just a kid, after all. He was thrown out of sight before he could even blink.

When he rushed to help again, the damage was already done. The alpha had left a claiming bite on her shoulder and left the site.

That fucking rascal had just left, leaving Paige on the ground, shuddering in pain.

Derek quickly lifted her, laying her head down on his lap carefully. She wasn't healing. God, why wasn't she healing?

She was rejecting the claim-bite.

Your wolf rejecting the bite was bad. Death bad. Your wolf would react to the bite like mountain ash, choking inside your veins, forcing you to deny the claim.

"Why are you rejecting it, Jesus," Derek exclaimed, shaking violently. He grabbed her hand and tried to take her pain. His forearm filled with the black veins running up through his hand. He tried that until his head went light with dizziness. He couldn't afford to pass out now.

"I can't…my wolf can't accept…D-Derek," Derek stared at her, horrified.

"No..NO…I'll call Dad, just hold on a while, he is an Alpha. He'll do something," Derek's fingers were trembling when he pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

There wasn't a signal in the preserve area.

Derek felt his heart sinking. He couldn't just leave Paige unattended in her delicate condition and look for a damn signal. He grabbed her close, supporting her pale cold body to his chest.

Paige vomited black blood.

"Derek, please…I can't…no more," Paige's muffled voice whispered into Derek's ear and tears started rolling down his cheeks.

"Please Paige," he pleaded, not knowing what he really wished for.

"Let me go Der, help me."

"No, please," Derek whispered.

She cried, begged him for mercy.

And Derek couldn't deny her that, not anymore.

Killing an innocent soul would take away a part of your soul…changing the colour of your eyes. Derek knew that. When Paige went still in his arms, Derek felt the change. His eyes glowed blue, no longer a golden yellow.

He was now Damaged.

That was the terminology they all used for such cruel, heartless werewolves who could dare to kill an innocent soul. Derek would never have imagined in his wildest dreams that he would be one of them.

His life turned upside down after that incident. There were investigations held and cops tracked down and killed the rogue Alpha. That bastard deserved it. But the incident had many negative effects on his overall already gloomy image, I mean; you couldn't just stop when the news spread in all possible weirdly wrong directions like a wildfire. Many of them thought that Derek was the one who has killed Paige. In a way, that was true. But he was just trying to help her. It was a mercy killing, and not a cold blooded murder. But Derek was not ready to get involved in any speculations. That horrible incident was already enough for him to get nasty nightmares every other night.

He lost all his friends. Everyone looked at him in disgust and fright. But, who would need friends when you have your twin sister in all your classes to keep you a company. Laura was the sole reason he survived school and college life. She would kick anyone who tried pulling slumbering threads of Derek's sad past.

One day, things went even beyond Laura's control when a gang of Alpha-beta bullies tried to torture Derek in his junior year of high school and Derek lashed out, shifting in the middle of a school hallway, (wolfing out was strictly prohibited inside school premises) claws out, teeth baring, and blue crystal eyes filled with rage.

The gang was taken aback by the sudden display of outburst from the usually calm Damaged Beta, but they were in majority and therefore fearless against a single vulnerable Beta.

Things looked like they were going to get messy, but the situation was tactfully handled by a new replacement teacher – Kate Argent.

Kate stood by Derek throughout the episode, even saved him from suspension. Derek was...impressed. She was an adult omega and of course, a teacher. But, Derek was seventeen and miserably lonely and before he could make any sense of what is right and what is wrong, Derek got attached to her and the lady fully encouraged him.

They never crossed any boundaries though, because Derek was still underage and they were constantly on Laura's radar, 24x7.

Derek thought that things were getting better for him.

Then one day, Derek and Laura were suddenly escorted from the middle of school to the home where half of their family was burnt alive with only two survivors – David and Talia (their parents), who were at the Hale Enterprise when the incident took place.

It was Kate.

Derek felt like a volcano erupted through his veins. Fury, betrayal, pain, guilt...everything all messed up, all so dreadful.

The Argent Werewolf Pack had history with Hales...a bad one. And Kate tried to take advantage of the vulnerable puppy, to meet her motives, to eliminate Hales.

"It's not your fault, Derek."

The remaining members of his family reiterated that, again and again, in failed attempts to comfort him, to take away from the mountain of guilt that Derek had buried himself in.

But nothing helped. It just added into his daily dose of nightmares.

That was the day when Derek decided that he would never get involved with any werewolf, until he met his soulmate.

Derek wished that things would be this easy for him.

Derek had a damaged soul and that would definitely not just limit to change in colour of his eyes.

He had learnt that when he turned eighteen.

It had been three months since he was of age, and things were still routine for him. No twist of heartbeats, no weird dreams, no smell which would stand out in the crowd of million of other werewolves. Well, these were the basic signs which every single werewolf would experience the moment they turned eighteen, irrespective of whether they would meet their soulmate or not.

And Derek felt nothing.

His case had been discussed with other elders and they revealed that it was a part of the process when you get a damaged soul. Damaging would take away some part of your identity, it was not just the colour of your eyes.

Damaged souls would also lose a chance to know their soulmates.

Derek's case was among the few rare ones. Many of the damaged werewolves would already know these Soulmate-signs before they killed someone. Killing an innocent soul before you turn eighteen was uncommon.

Derek was really okay with it. Soulmates were a tricky concept. And hey, not all un-damaged werewolves would know about soulmates at eighteen. Many had spent their life time to get to meet their other perfect half. Majority of them wouldn't even meet them. Like ever. They would just spend quite a happy life with other unmated werewolf. That was easy. Derek knew that too.

His parents were not soulmates and he had watched them spending a happy, love-filled life for twenty two years now, since his birth. It was like they were made for each other. Definitely no less than so-called soulmates.

But, there went Derek's plan of waiting for his perfect half.

Because he wouldn't be able to sense nor smell his soulmate. He wouldn't know who his soulmate was, ever.

After the incident with Kate, Derek never dared to indulge himself in any kind of relationships. He poured his heart into the family business, helping his father grow the Hale enterprise. He was getting it there, slowly and steadily, like he had finally found a purpose in his life. His father would always involve him in bigger deals, letting him handle a couple of projects independently. After all, Derek was the future. He was the future Alpha of the Hale pack.

Though the Hale siblings were twins, Derek was fifteen minutes older than Laura.

And life couldn't be so harsh on him, all the time, every fucking time?

He was twenty one when he received a courting proposal from the Blake Pack.

Jennifer Blake was an intelligent omega, confident and independent. She was just a year older than Derek. Derek remembered meeting her in one of the pack functions from the previous day and surprisingly, he had actually shared a genuine conversation with her there.

The very next day, Derek received the proposal.

Derek felt awkward to reject it right away. She looked like a nice lady. Hence, like a true gentleman, he actually dialled her number on Laura's insistence, and his life suddenly rejuvenated from its miserable depths.

Jennifer's soft voice rang in Derek's ears, when she said "I am your soulmate."

Derek had almost dropped the phone, stunned. He was not ready for such things. Such nice things.

He listened to her intensely when she spoke about how she had recognised his smell from her vague 'coming of age' memories. How desperately she wanted to drown in his scent and how she couldn't afford to spend a single second away from him.

Derek had never given a thought to the fact that even though he was totally incapable of identifying his soul mate, his soul mate could definitely track him down.

Even after six months of dating Jennifer, he still wondered if this was true and was actually happening with him, that he was finally getting a chance to know his soul mate, for real.

Well, things were never going to remain good for him, ever.

No. It was not his relationship, this time, but his parents'.

Derek had smelled some tension between his parents, for a few months now, almost immediately after he had started dating Jennifer.

Their family dinners were not as fun as they used to be a few months back. He could smell a distinct acrid scent oozing out of his father that literally choked Derek on a couple of occasions. It felt vaguely like sadness, or even despair, in fact. His mother was not better, but there was this distinct aroma which clung to her all the time which suspiciously smelled like - happiness?

Could despair and happiness go hand in hand?

And last week, Derek received a call from the emergency were-Hospital saying that his father had an accident and he was admitted there.

Emergency were-Hospital… a highly unused entity, in the world of freaking werewolves who had super healing powers. And when that was getting used, at all, for any reason, then it was a clear sign of red-alert.

Derek ran to the hospital on the verge of shifting into his Beta form, shivering.

Laura was waiting outside the operating room, like a scared, wet puppy, and Derek felt as though his heart had stopped beating.

His father was an Alpha. He was a fucking HALE Alpha. Derek had heard tales of his ancestors possessing those superior wolf genes. In fact, that was one of the reasons why every other pack had envied them so much, or wanted to be a part of the Hales so desperately. Then why the hell his father was in the hospital, with those useless super-Hale-wolf genes?

And where was his mother?

Derek could smell Talia. She was around, or at least she had been there, sometime back. And then Derek just gaped at Laura, shocked, as his sister told him that his own mother was responsible for his father's condition.

Talia had stumbled upon her mate, six months back.

That was the reason of the unspoken tension that ran around his parents all the time for the past six months, which eventually ended with Talia deciding to join her mate.

Derek felt like the ground was being pulled away from under his feet. He couldn't even dare to imagine the state of his father's mind. Derek's heart broke for him.

The doctors said David Hale was undergoing some mental trauma, and his wolf was not ready to trigger the healing process. His wolf denied the healing. He was ready to accept death, over accepting a separation from his life-mate, who was sadly not his soulmate.

The Hale twins were waiting outside the operating room, terrified, shaking, hands clasped with each other, when Laura suddenly cried out, clenching Derek's hand, eyes squeezed, tight.

When she opened her eyes, again, they flashed bright red…Alpha red.

David Hale died that day.

And Talia Hale was disowned by her own children that day, accusing her for the death of their father.

Laura was the new Alpha Hale.

And of course, Derek had no complaints. Everyone else though, did not agree with his opinion. Not even Laura.

"It's not fair." she exclaimed when they settled enough from the shock of losing their Alpha, their father, and their…mother. But Derek knew that there was a reason behind everything that happened in this werewolf world and everyone knew that reason, already. After all, Derek had fucked up big time with his own werewolf genes, long back, to even try to claim something as strong as an Alpha rank.

He was fucking Damaged.

It was no wonder if anyone (Harris) had thought that Derek was not good enough for the position of chairperson of Hale Enterprise, which had been occupied by Hale pack Alphas for ages.

Derek's cell phone vibrated in his pocket, breaking the chain of his deep, depressing thoughts.

His lips softly twitched upwards when he noticed the number on the display.

"Hey Jennifer," he muttered, in low tone. He was feeling so drained, physically and emotionally, after the board meeting today.

"Derek," her voice rang into the speaker. "My dad wants me to try other propositions."

Derek furrowed his eyebrows. Jennifer's sentence did not make any sense to his already worn out brain.

"My pack needs it," Jennifer continued as there was no response from Derek, or maybe she was not expecting any response from Derek. It mostly felt like a declaration. "I proposed to you thinking you would be…the future Hale…A-Alpha," she stuttered in hesitation but continued. "But you aren't, and you never will be. My pack needs a capable Alpha, and I am not ready to risk my future for nothing."

"What future? We…we're…mates," Derek struggled for words, he felt like he was dreaming. He hoped that this was just a dream. Why would his soulmate suddenly say such horrible things to him?

"I lied."

There was a long pause.

"Huh?" Derek managed to get out, finally.

"I am not your soulmate, Derek," Jennifer said, in a cold tone. "I lied to you," she repeated.

With a blink of an eye, Derek shifted to his beta form, roaring as he crushed his cell phone in his clawed hand into pieces.


	2. The Meeting

Pain.

Derek felt like a sharp knife laced in wolfsbane was slicing through his heart, twisting in slow motion, from left to right and back again.

He was still wolfed out. His wolf was hurt and agitated…shattered.

He had been through alot, in the past. Heartbreak and betrayal were not new things for him. But this felt like the final nail in the coffin of his love-life.

'I am not ready to risk my future for nothing.'

Nothing?

Derek felt like a piece of tissue paper, at the bottom of a dustbin, used by many and thrown away without a second thought.

Why him?

Why would someone use this sick trick to lie to him and pretend that they were his soulmate, for six fucking months?

Jennifer and the pack must have planned this way in advance. Not a single person from the Hale pack had caught her lies. Not even his Alpha father.

Derek knew that werewolf's laws were strict and stringent. Many had found escape routes to circumvent them. Scent suppressors or scent instigators were quite easily available in the market. Some took official classes to control the wolf within them, like - controlling the shift or finding your anchor, even controlling your heartbeat and other senses and many had used these skills in daily routine and few had mastered it – like Jennif-...

That name still hurt like a scorpion sting.

For a moment, Derek just wondered, what if Derek was the one to become the Alpha, instead of Laura, after his father's death? Was Jennifer willing enough to continue her fake soulmate drama for a lifetime?

A cold shiver ran up Derek's spine, raising his hair, giving him goosebumps all over.

He tore off his tie, which was choking him now, with a furious slash of the claws. He couldn't breathe. He desperately needed that gulp of fresh oxygen to pump the blood into his lungs. He needed to go out…away from this selfish world.

He huffed out a heavy sigh, and tried to control his trembling body. He rushed to his closet and tossed a couple of clothes and some extra cash inside the bag and shoved his thick wallet in his suit pant. He always kept a travelling kit ready; so packing-in-a-daze-condition was not a problem and was quick. He marched towards the window, flinging the bag over his shoulder. He was not going to wait in this house…this city.

Not even a second more.

He was about to lunge out of the window, when he paused and turned back.

Laura.

It was almost eleven at night and Laura was not home yet. She must be persuading (threatening) other committee members to rethink their decision.

Derek's feet automatically made a beeline for her room. He did not have his cell phone and he regretted destroying it. The phone was his life, so many important folks just a finger touch away. Damn. His gaze floated over Laura's room, finally landing on her wooden dressing table. He wasn't going to waste any more time searching for a pen and paper.

So he started scraping on the table's surface with his claws.

"Going away." he carved on the wooden piece, slowly moving his palm over the etched letters, clearing the powdery particles of wood away. He almost got up, but on a second thought, he continued.

"Don't follow." he added.

This was not new to Laura. Derek had taken this kind of break, in the past. On one occasion he had disappeared for fifteen days, without any contact and freaked out all the members of his family. He was sure that Laura would understand and would give him his time.

She was going to kill him when he returned, though, for spoiling her antique dressing table.

Derek jumped out of the window, landing gracefully on the ground. He tried to pamper his agitated mind with the cool, gentle wind of night, running through the narrow side paths, disoriented, till his legs hurt and his heart ached with its rapid, erratic beating.

He wanted to let his wolf free rather than suffocating him within, which was currently rotting in a poisonous heart ache.

Derek's gaze scanned the bus timetable in front of him, which did not make any sense.

After burning his detrimental energy for an hour, he was back in human form. He realized that he was almost outside the city limits and had reached the last bus station on the city's outskirts.

He couldn't remember the last time he took a bus ride, but that was because he never had taken one. But he was so not going to book a plane ticket, or hire a private car, or follow his usual travelling routine. Nope. Those involved just too much interactions and Derek was not in a mood for any kind of conversation, other than his emotional, internal, self-loathing rants.

The bus station was almost empty. It was midnight and Derek was not sure if they were even open. But he could hear a few random heartbeats around. He tracked two betas, probably the bus staff, heading towards the staff restroom.

He heard a few more heartbeats and scanned the badly lit area in search of their source.

They were coming from a bus that was parked in the station.

Okay. There was a bus, waiting for him to take him somewhere. To take him away.

For a moment, Derek just gaped at the retreating back of the bus staff, uncertain of what should be his next plan. Oh, hell with the plan. He was just going to collapse on some soft cushions, relax his body and clear up his disturbed mind.

Derek marched towards the bus adjusting his bag strap on the shoulder. He was not even sure if he would finish this bus journey or not.

Oh, Derek was definitely not going to finish this bus journey, for sure.

The moment he stepped into that bus, a putrid aroma hit his nose, hard. The bus reeked. Sweat, damp seats, rotting food, and piss. His head ached like someone was hammering it with a sharp object from inside. The interior of the bus looked like it had been cleaned once in the eighteenth century or something.

He wouldn't survive this. Derek knew.

But what was he planning to do, if not this?

Quietly, Derek made his way to a random seat, ignoring the scrutinizing gazes of the other passengers, settling down in a search of comfort (which he seriously doubted). He patiently waited for bus to start already. He closed his eyes to concentrate, in an attempt to filter out all putrid senses around.

Soon he heard the footsteps of the staff returning from the restroom. They smelled tired. Night shifts must be tough. After a moment, the bus engine roared to a start.

Finally.

The bus jolted from the spot, when his ears caught frantic drumming of heartbeats, over the metallic rumble of bus engine, coming from somewhere nearby. Derek opened his eyes on instinct, ears twitching a little to grasp that sound a bit more.

"Hey! Hey, stop the bus! Stop the damn bus!" Someone yelled outside and the bus driver hit the brakes, hard, in response.

The heartbeat thudded even more rapidly, if that was possible, moving closer. The moment the bus door squeaked open, Derek's nostrils flared with a sweet minty smell, which overpowered other pungent scents floating around within a second.

Omega, definitely young Omega.

A young omega.

Travelling in this crap.

At this hour.

Alone.

It was like an open invitation to all those Alphas and Betas who must be lurking in some dark alley, somewhere.

Dangerous.

Foolish –

But why did Derek care?

Derek shifted in his seat, uncomfortably, resting his head on the back support, closing his eyes, again. He huffed out the sugary scent that was still lingering on his olfactory receptors.

The bus engine coughed to a start again, but the sound of the thumping heartbeat was not ready to fade away; in fact, it became crystal clear, like it was right up in front of his face.

"Hey man…that's my seat."

The Omega was still panting.

Curly fries, chicken nuggets and…coke. Really?

Derek opened his eyes, unwillingly.

He saw the red plaid shirt, up close, right in his line of sight and Derek had to move his head back to adjust his focus. Gradually, his gaze moved up, taking in every minute detail of the items in front of his vision.

A pulsing vein in the long neckline, which was dotted with moles. Moles randomly spread on a jaw, which stood out perfectly against the pale skin beneath. The bow shaped pink lips, parted in awe for no particular reason, just out of habit. The amazing shade of big amber eyes, fluttering and were currently focused on Derek.

Derek blinked, awkwardly, breaking his steady stare, which must have looked weird.

"This is my seat, I booked it online," the Omega explained, quirking one eyebrow up, shoving the ticket printout into Derek's nose.

Derek jerked away. He was definitely not interested in re-checking the Omega's window claims here, because he was so drained physically and emotionally. So he quietly scooted over to the adjacent seat, and ignored the other werewolf.

"Actually, it doesn't bother me much," Omega pushed past towards the window seat, through the narrow leg space, stamping on Derek's feet.

Derek clenched his jaws, but did not react, otherwise.

The Omega dumped his backpack on his seat and tried to stuff his duffel bag onto the baggage rack above them, and continued talking. "But hey, I am kind of having a bad day here. I missed my previous bus. And those jerks wouldn't give me my refund."

The Omega pushed the bag in that tiny storage, with extra force, cursing the staff for their non-cooperation. He halted his palms in a catching position, making sure the bag wouldn't fall.

"Can you believe that?" he huffed out, finally settling into his seat beside Derek, turning to look at Derek. "I had to wait at this shitty place for four fucking hours, AND I SO NEED MY WINDOW VIEW, DUDE." The Omega moaned, loudly.

Derek winced.

He felt the weight of the Omega's stare on him. It took all the determination for Derek to concentrate all his senses on the dirty cover of the front seat.

"Sir, can I see your ticket please?"

A voice broke his internal thought-stream of freak out.

Derek furrowed his eyebrows, in confusion, looking up at the staff in front of him.

Fuck.

How could he have forgotten to buy a ticket? He had never travelled in the bus before. Okay. He was kind of out of his mind. Alright. But every damn form of transportation required a ticket. What was he? Five?

"Trying to sneak in for free, huh?" The staff taunted.

Derek did not know what to respond to that, had he broken the law or something?

"Hey, hey, hey, just chill," the Omega interrupted, before Derek could open his mouth, shooting up from his seat, like a lightning bolt, to face the staff. "I know how your bus service usually overbooked passengers by mistake." The last two words, he quoted in air with two fingers. "And sneak in random people to grab extra money, on a daily basis. Just look at him -" Omega paused, pointing his hand at Derek's face, branded shirt and expensive suit pants, and lavish watch, "Does he look like a person who would sneak in for free?"

Derek felt awkward, as the two men stared at him, up and down. He just glared back at them, scrunching his eyebrows in irritation.

"Actually, he is going through a tough time. Y'know? He recently lost someone."

Derek flinched, jerking his head to look at the Omega.

How could he possibly know?

Oh, the Omega was lying.

Omega didn't know. He was lying, cleverly covering up for his wavering senses, using staff beta's distractions and of course, nonstop chatter, which always had his heartbeat unsteady.

The staff did not seem to notice, though. And the Omega continued his babble, "He is kind of disturbed, and I think we should help him out. Can you give him the ticket now? He'll pay you." The Omega looked at Derek, demanding the agreement.

Derek's gaze moved between the two men, uncertain. He sensed the other Beta lightly sniffed in the air coming from Derek, maybe confirming his distress. The lines on the beta's forehead smoothed out, within a moment.

"Okay…Which station?" he asked, finally, watching Derek with thoughtful eyes.

Derek didn't know what to respond. Again. Because he fucking didn't know what bus he was travelling in. He swallowed, heartbeats thudding a little faster, in anxiety.

"Give him Beacon Hills," The Omega cut in, in haste, "That's the last stop right? We're all going to Beacon Hills." The Omega let out a fake laugh, chancing a quick glance at Derek, checking for any objections. But there were none.

The man delightedly handed Derek a ticket for Beacon Hills.

"Sorry Dude, had to settle for the last stop. That beta looked tough." Omega said, shrugging, slumping down in his window seat. "But seriously, why didn't you buy a ticket?"

Derek scowled at him.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Omega replied smugly, turning his attention outside the window, away from Derek.

And Derek thought that was the end of it.

"Are you new in this town?"

Omega started, not even a minute later. "Were you here for training? I was here for training."

The Omega didn't seem bothered if Derek wasn't interested in conversation of any kind.

"My Dad sent me here for advanced Omega training. I had Scott with me…my best friend," he provided, proudly, "But he is an Alpha and their training completed two days early, so he's returned home already." He looked at Derek.

Stop talking to me.

Derek was trying not to show any response, but Omega must be listening to his heartbeats, judging his scents and must know that Derek was listening to him.

"Why this discrimination? Why do we have different trainings for different ranks? I mean, I would have preferred attending Alpha training with Scott, rather than spending a week with those rude Omegas, or even your Beta trainings are cool. You are a Beta, right?" he paused, expecting an answer.

Shut up.

Derek had his eyes closed, desperately hoping for sleep to take over.

"I wanna be badass, too."

The Omega was not ready to stop. He relaxed into the seat, stretching his body in all directions, rotating his feet for comfort, occasionally checking for Derek.

"But my Dad wouldn't understand. He gave me this ultimatum – Stiles, you are turning eighteen, next month, so attend the training or no Xbox for three months…and no Scott," Omega changed his voice, mimicking his father's voice, maybe.

Stiles…Was that even a name?

Derek focused on his breathing, trying to control it.

"I am sure he is planning to set me up with some Alpha. I heard him on the phone. I think some macho-Alpha is waiting for me with a courting proposal, back at home. God, they won't even wait till I am eighteen. My Dad is a great Alpha, by the way… just so you know, I don't want you to misunderstand."

Misunderstand? WHEN IS THE NEXT REST STOP?

Derek wanted to leave this bus so badly, like right now.

"Dad won't force me. But I have other plans," The Omega - Stiles' steady heartbeat quivered, a little.

There was a pause.

Thank god.

"I am seeing someone," Stiles added.

Silence.

Derek suddenly released his senses, taking in anything, but Omega's continuous jabber. For a moment, the foul scent of mildew from somewhere, felt more tolerable. But his eardrums kept vibrating with random sentences from the Omega, who was sitting too close to block his everything.

"Victor is a Beta, so he's not in my father's shortlisted candidates for my courting."

"I am so going to run away from Beacon Hills, like ASAP."

"Dad's gonna be so mad."

"Scott would kill me."

"After I am eighteen and marked, they will approve. They love me too much."

"I can't believe, I am sharing this with you."

"Scott thinks Victor is an Asshole. So I couldn't tell him about us."

"Victor is - SHIT...I'm so sorry."

The bus bounced on the speed bump and Stiles' bag fell right on Derek's head from the top shelf.

The bag wasn't heavy, for a werewolf, but it completely took Derek by surprise and he responded impulsively.

Claws out, teeth baring, eyes flashing…Blue.

"Whoa!"

The Omega let out a gasp and stared right into Derek's eyes. It took Derek a moment to realize why.

No. Derek was so not ready to face this right now - the look of terror, the whiff of disgust - those were the default reactions from others, who had witnessed the demon within him.

But, Derek's nostrils twitched with a wave of tangy smell of amusement, instead.

"Do you even know the scent of your soulmate? You look quite young."

Derek shuddered, as the question hit him, hard. He gaped at Stiles, stunned.

The question was personal, and it scratched open so many unhealed wounds. He swallowed the thick lump gathering in the throat, heart pounding against his ribcage, faster, harder.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay," Omega shifted towards Derek, hands flailing like they were twitching for contact, to offer comfort. But, he didn't touch. "You don't have to answer that." Omega muttered in a soft tone.

Derek's shoulder muscles slumped, a little, relieving the tension there. He blinked and the blue faded from his eyes, retreating the claws and fangs, slowly.

Stiles scanned Derek's face, in concern, as the Beta ducked his head, averting the curious glances from the Omega.

How the hell did this under aged, chatty Omega know these things about Damaged werewolf's soulmate scent, which had taken them detailed discussions with respectable elders from the other packs, for weeks.

"I did my school project on blue-eyed werewolves, last year."

Stiles replied as if he heard Derek's mind. "I had to googled everything, because I didn't know anyone, y'know, who is -"

"Damaged?" Derek snapped, clenching his jaws, glowering at Stiles.

"You can talk?"

The Omega exclaimed, in astonishment, wide eyed and open mouthed, gawking at Derek.

Derek rolled his eyes, making an exasperated sound, sagging deep into his smelly seat.

Derek was so getting off this bus, the very next chance he got.


	3. The Argument

Stiles stirred in his sleep. He scratched his neck, adjusting his position on the highly uncomfortable and narrow seat. His neck muscles ached, as they had been squished on the back support at an awkward angle, for God knows how long. He would heal though.

"Can someone start the damn AC, please?"

He mumbled, eyes fluttering open, slowly, still heavy with sleep. He was drenched in sweat and the stale air around him was suffocating all his senses, especially with no AC, and no movement.

The bus had halted at the rest stop.

Stiles noted the time on the wrist watch.

2 AM.

Great. The bus should be halting here for fifteen minutes, at least, so he could go outside and maybe breathe a little fresh air, then.

"Hey man, you wanna-"

He stopped dead, at the sight of the empty seat beside him.

Was I dreaming?

He squinted his eyes and tried to stir his blurry memory, which was currently drowned in a lingering sleep. No. He clearly remembered the earthy scent, like the aroma of the ground when rain hits it, mixed with that mild soothing aftershave. That Beta had smelled so good. He remembered those pale green eyes, flecked with grey, brown and blue, that mingled so well. Those thick dancing eyebrows, which talked so much better than the man himself. The never fading scowl and that thick, unbearable scent of agony.

The Beta had looked annoyed with his constantly furrowed eyebrows but had smelled broken, depressed. As if, he was hiding some dark misery with a façade of aloofness.

For a moment, Stiles wondered what could have caused him so much pain, but he quickly realised that an empty seat was not a good sign, especially in this secluded area at two in the morning and with a dangerously miserable mind-set. The Beta shouldn't be roaming around, alone, at all.

He got up from his seat, looking around for the familiar tall, muscled figure. But he couldn't locate him. The bus was filled with snoring sounds, coming from different corners of the bus; unclear mumbles, ruffling clothes and a crying pup. Many were in deep sweet-early-morning sleep. He breathed in a thick gulp of air to track that earthy scent one more time.

Yes, the scent was still lingering around. It had faded a little, but was still noticeable. The Beta must be nearby, somewhere. He got down from the bus.

The cool breeze of morning air pleasantly tickled his uncovered skin, refreshing his body and mind. The road was poorly lit with broken street lights, still wrapped under the dark cover of the night.

Danger. Go back - his subconscious called out.

Find the beta - his wolf called back.

He stopped, taken aback a little.

Well, his subconscious mind had always alerted him of danger. Stiles was so prone to danger because of his Act-first-Think-never attitude. His wolf feelings, though, would always agree to his subconscious like an old pal.

But not today. Why? Why was he so worried about the man he had hardly known for two hours? He did not even know the man's name. Then why?

Stiles shook his head and tried to wipe out all these weird, baseless thoughts. But, he listened to his wolf and quietly followed the trail.

There was no one on the streets. No one. Definitely not a night-life friendly town then. However, a few vehicles zoomed past him at regular intervals, clearly speeding. After all, there was no one to maintain the law here.

He continued his march down the road, as the Beta's scent grew thicker in the air and kept one ear focused on the sounds from the bus. Actually, it was easy with the pup's wailing noise.

After a while, everything felt distant and barely audible, even the wailing.

The Beta had gone farther than Stiles had initially predicted. For a moment, he doubted if the man was ever planning on returning. His heart thudded rapidly at the thought.

He was alone, on the empty streets of some ghost town, not sure if his voice would reach anyone's ears if he shouted for help, just in case.

Stop. Turn around.

Not yet buddy, go on. Just a little more.

Stiles was feeling completely disoriented with the internal tug-of-war of thoughts.

And then, a thick clear wave of sadness hit his nose, hard.

Finally -

He let out a heavy breath, which had been making his chest tight. He increased his pace, and saw the beta sitting on the bench at the side of the road.

He had leaned forward with elbows on his knees, hands clasped tightly, shoulders slumped down (as if they had been carrying tons of weight), and gaze pinned to the ground, unfocused.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Derek jerked in response, raising his head up to gape at Stiles, in utter shock.

How had he not heard Stiles approaching? Had he blocked the senses so tight? Not good!

The surprise on the Beta's face quickly changed to frustration. He scowled at Stiles, clearly not happy to see him there.

"Why are you here? Are you following me?"

"No!"

Stiles blurted it out, like a reflex, and he watched Derek's eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. "I mean, I was just…looking for you," he stuttered, trying to cover up for his lie, before quickly changing the topic, "They're leaving in five, maybe two minutes -"

"I'm not coming," Derek cut in, hissing out every single word, spreading his hands over the back of the bench.

"What?" Stiles asked, in surprise.

"Are you deaf?"

"Are you crazy?"

There was a long pause, where they both glared at other, until-

Derek broke eye contact, clenched his jaw, and ignored Stiles, as if he wasn't there.

Stiles stood there tapping a foot, before his gaze finally landed on Derek's bag.

"Is this really where you want to get down? It's not safe -"

"Why do you care?"

'God, the Beta is difficult.'

Stiles opened his mouth to snap back, but his ears twitched with a distant sound of the bus ignition turning on to a quick start and then going silent.

"Oh crap. The bus is starting, let's go." Stiles stepped forward, stopping right in front of Derek. His entire body vibrated with anxiety. "If we don't start running, like right now, I don't think we're gonna make it."

"Leave me alone!" Derek spat, through his gritted teeth. After a second, though, he let out a heavy sigh. "You should go now," he added, lowering his tone, but still sounding blunt.

Stiles swallowed. He stared into Derek's eyes for ten seconds, as if he could fetch some answers through them. He heard the bus engine roar again and settle into the steady vibrations, ready to go. Stiles couldn't afford to waste a second more, if he actually wanted to catch that bus.

He took three steps back still facing Derek, his wolf urging him to stay.

"Okay then," Stiles huffed out. "This is your last chance, man. I'm not gonna ask you again. Are you coming…or not?"

Derek didn't reply.

He folded his hands, resting them on his broad chest and stared straight into Stiles' eyes, looking determined.

"Right then. Enjoy!" Stiles said, finally turning his back on the Beta and sprinting for the bus, like his tail was on fire.

Stiles wolfed out and ran for it.

He started running on two legs first, but swiftly changed to all fours to reach the bus as quickly as possible.

He could clearly hear the screeching sound of the bus tyres, and the pup, who was still crying. He dashed forward, pushing his limits. He knew he was fast, even faster than Scott, and the bus would take a while before overpowering his wolf speed.

Beta…the Beta is alone.

His wolf kept on repeating it like a chant, mercilessly shaking his already weak resolve.

Well, this was the place where the Beta wanted to get down, and even if it was not, Stiles was not going to drag an adult Beta's adamant ass back onto the bus. Could he? Maybe he had just got fed up with the stinking bus, or maybe with Stiles himself. And he looked strong, totally capable of protecting himself. And maybe he wouldn't try anything stupid in his distressed condition-

Stiles heart twitched a little with the sound of uncertainty of that thought and he turned his neck to look back quickly, still running ahead.

Stiles watched as Derek's outline became blurry. His steady heartbeat grew distant, although it was still audible. His scent lingered over Stiles' nostrils, strong, almost overpowering. Stiles could feel those sharp green eyes on him, looking at –

Damn -

Stiles' legs toppled over the uneven surface of a speed bump.

The impact was intense, mostly because Stiles was running with the speed equivalent to a vehicle on the highway, looking backward and unfocused.

His body flew to the road, without touching the grounds for quite a few meters, finally bouncing to a stop on a concrete bench at the side of the road, chest first. Then he landed on the rough surface of the road below, hitting his back side hard. Something cracked there, again.

Stiles felt his heart stop with the impact.

Eventually, the quick glance at the Beta turned out to be the biggest mistake of his already shitty day.

He lay there, unmoving. Even the natural heaving of a chest shot piercing pain right to his brain. He squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fist tight in a failed attempt to absorb the ache. He tried to guess the intensity of the damage.

A broken rib, bruised knees and battered elbows. That's it!

And a cracked cell phone.

Holy fucking-… Cell phone…why?

He kept completely still, while his healing triggered and slowly started knitting the cracked parts of his body. Oh, that hurt even more. Stiles bit his lips, trying to suppress the muffled cry escaping his mouth.

The repair took long, almost felt like an eternity.

After a moment, his senses got distracted by an approaching thudding of a heartbeat and that familiar earthy scent.

Great -

Stiles rolled his eyes beneath the closed eyelids, clenching his jaw. He took the support of his almost healed elbows and slowly raised his body into a sitting position.

"Are you alright?"

Stiles opened his eyes like a flash and found himself staring right back into concerned green ones.

Yeah, right!

He did not answer and tried to stand up. Derek offered him a hand for support. Stiles ignored him.

Stiles pushed himself up harder. Mistake. Again. He stumbled, a little, before steadying himself into a standing position. That simple movement felt like a stab through the chest. His rib was yet to heal.

"Of course I am alright," Stiles barked, shooting words at Derek. "I just missed the fucking bus, because of you!"

"Me?" Derek snarled, furrowing his eyebrows, "I didn't ask you to come and look for me."

"Oh right, I am an Idiot," Stiles bellowed. The pain in his chest felt nothing in comparison to the sudden rage that crept into his brain "I thought…I thought, maybe the guy smells like death and I shouldn't leave him alone, or maybe I should go and check if he's having some suicidal attack. But then look at me-" He marched forward pressing into the Derek's space."I lost all my luggage, cracked a few bones, broke my cell phone. I…I have no fucking clue what I'm going to do now…No, wait…Here's what I am going to do-" Stiles stopped right in front of Derek. "I am going to chase that damn bus down, right now. And YOU-" he paused, tapping his index finger on Derek's chest.

"You are so going to help me out…and THAT'S FUCKING FINAL!"

Stiles roared, eyes glowing yellow.


	4. Help

Nobody dared to threaten Derek Hale like this…well, except for Laura.

And this...skinny, noisy, hyperactive, spaz was flashing Derek his yellow-gold eyes? Was he really asking for help or trying to bully him? Like, Derek would care if some Omega showed him his wolf-eyes, or fangs, or Claws or whatever he's got. Yes, Derek would definitely feel intimidated by his nonstop chatter, though. That was quite scary and unbearable. What was up with this guy? He was in pain, injured, not fully healed, lost, but the kid was just not ready to stop his angry jabber. How much energy had he stored to waste on useless babble. Given the chance, Derek wouldn't open his mouth for days, but this one here…God!

Derek scanned Stiles' face, which was just few inches apart from his. Derek didn't budge. He stood there like his legs were pinned to the road, he tried to block the unceasing ramble which now seemed like a bee's buzzing.

Stiles was shivering with pain, and fury.

Derek gazed into the Omega's yellow eyes, which were giving those soothing amber eyes quite a fierce effect, especially with surrounding clouds of rage.

More than angry, the boy smelled hurt, physically, of course; but emotionally, as well. Maybe from the blunt remarks from Derek, or maybe he was going crazy because he had just hit his head or something.

"Urgh."

Stiles made an exasperated sound right in Derek's face, but quickly squeezed his eyes, as if in an attempt to control his wolf. Finally, he took a step back. Eyes still shut tight. He ducked his head, panting heavily. His chest twitched with the ache in his ribs and Derek could wholeheartedly swear on it, that he physically felt the Omega's pain, Stiles' pain.

Well, he was a werewolf and could easily feel the signals coming from others. He would definitely sense the intensity of the injury and if the hurt person was from his close circle - like Laura or family…No…Laura was the only family he had left with. Talia Hale was no family, not anymore – the pain would also physically bother Derek. But this was different.

There was a difference in sensing others' pain and feeling others' pain like it was your own.

Yes. Derek felt that sudden twinge in his chest, shooting straight to his brain, like a knife was stabbing through his chest. Strange! Why would he feel the pain of some stranger werewolf? Or maybe he was just mixing his own pain with the Omega's.

"We are going to take a lift from…someone, and then…then we will follow the bus."

Stiles' shaky voice cut Derek's chain of thought. The Omega's eyes were human now, and staring straight at Derek. Something tugged at Derek's heart as he witnessed the confused, tense look in those amber eyes, again.

"Okay."

The words slipped from Derek's mouth, before he could stop them.

"NO! We will foll-…w-wait…what?" Stiles stammered, blinking his eyes, like he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Maybe the boy was expecting some more protest, some fight and absolute refusal from Derek. There was a sudden glitch in his heartbeat, which settled down immediately, when Derek's words actually processed through his brain.

Derek did not break eye contact, to convey that he really meant to help him.

Stiles finally closed his parted lips and soothed the stress-lines from his forehead. His heartbeat settled down after a while.

"Okay then," Stiles huffed out a choked sigh, in relief, nodding at Derek. His lips twitched a little, in a half smile.

All of the signals of worry, confusion and wariness which had been oozing out of the boy, evaporated into thin air within a second.

And Derek felt good. Calm.

What the fuck was Derek thinking when he agreed to this plan?

All the vehicles were zooming past them, as if they didn't exist. Nobody stopped, or even slowed down.

And why would they? It was just past two in the morning and stopping your car to offer a lift to some random strangers did not look like a logical option.

Stiles, though, somehow managed to ignore that fact.

He waved at them, yelled at them, ran after them (it looked like he had healed completely). He stumbled after them on a few occasions, and eventually, when they did not respond, he cursed at them, flailing his hands, kicking his legs.

Idiot -

Derek rolled his eyes, making exasperated sounds, looking at the boy. Of course he was supposed to help Stiles, but the Omega did not look like he needed any help.

"Hey what are you looking at?" Stiles walked towards Derek, in utter frustration. "You think this is easy?" he added, shoving his hands in the jeans pockets.

Derek shrugged, nonchalantly.

"Alright, then why don't you try, big guy? C'mon, let me see what you got," Stiles said it like a challenge. He made his way to the bench and sprawled over it relaxing his limbs, pointing a chin at Derek, to continue.

Okay!

Derek gave Stiles a death glare before moving ahead, a little, off from the side of the road. He focused his eyes at the far end of the road. He did not sense anyone, yet. He unbuttoned his sleeves cuffs and rolled it just over his elbows. He shook his hands to relax muscles there, as if preparing himself for some fight.

After a moment or two, he heard the first car approaching. He breathed in the thick gulp of air, to analyse.

Alpha…In his forties…Alone…Still had a strong effect of wolfs-bane laced alcohol.

Not safe!

Derek had an irresistibly sweet smelling under aged, unmated Omega with him and drunken, lonely, Alpha seemed like a dangerous option. Derek took a step back, letting the car pass by, without any interruptions.

He heard a snort from behind, which Derek ignored.

Soon, Derek watched the second car approaching.

Beta…In her thirties…No alcohol…But travelling with the speed of approximately 65-70 mph.

Derek moved forward, pointing his hand out to signal the driver. The car approached him, fast.

"Hey!" Derek called out, in an attempt to grab the attention of the driver.

The speed increased to 70 mph…80 mph…and more…

The car zoomed past him and Derek heard a thundering laughter from behind.

That little piece of shit!

Derek clenched his jaws, huffed out an irritated sigh, but did not turn back, focussing on the road ahead.

He did not have to wait for long. The third car came within a second.

A pack…three Alphas and two Omegas. All adults.

No place!

Derek still held his grounds. Maybe they were willing to make some space to accommodate the troubled werewolves.

The car dropped its speed. Finally. Derek smelled pretty mixed signals from all of them. Spicy smell of food, a tinge of alcohol, and sex.

They must be returning from some party.

The car suddenly took an inward turn towards Derek. Initially, Derek thought, they were actually stopping by, but no.

"Take him Ennis," a Lady Alpha from the back seat coldly hissed at the driver-Alpha and the driver wheeled the car in Derek's direction, without reducing its pace, almost ramming into Derek.

Derek quickly fell back to avoid the contact. His knees and palms scrapped badly against the rough surface of the road, before he crouched down on the grounds on all fours, in an instantaneous alert vehicle roared past him, honking. He heard delighted shout outs of teasing and excitement, coming from the car.

Yes, someone's pain was fun for someone else!

"Assholes!" Derek heard Stiles yell. Derek felt him marching a few meters after them, shouting out his full stock of curses. But Derek did not look back. He was not ready to face a teasing smirk, or a smug reply or anything else from the Omega.

He raised his body into a standing position, slowly, dusting off his clothes to clear the dirt and then quietly watched as another car approached, not long after.

It was a grey Toyota Camry. The model looked quite old, though, must be built around 2005. Derek got a whiff of driver's honeyed scent, mixed in a strong flowery perfume. Okay. Derek could live with that.

Alpha…Female Alpha…In her late fifties…Running at 25 mph.

Alright!

Derek felt some hope.

He was alert now, in case the lady was in a mood to follow the previous pack of jerks. But she smelled calm. And then, her car was right in front of Derek, just a few meters away and there was a sudden increase in her heart rate.

Derek knew that the lady was not going to halt.

Damn-

This time, Derek turned around to look back at Stiles. He had enough. They were losing time and even by some miracle, if some angel would decide to stop they still wouldn't make it to catch the bus on time and they would –

Derek's heart skipped a beat on the sight of empty bench behind.

Where the hell-

"NO!" Derek let out a yell from the pit of his stomach, when he tracked the Omega.

Stiles was standing in the middle of the road, just a few feet from the car and before Derek could blink, Derek lunged ahead to stand right between the line of the moving car and Omega, like some shield.

But Derek was no shield.

He was a werewolf, having some badass healing powers. But for a moment Derek seemed to forget that he could still get dashed by a speeding car, which could still break every single bone of his body, which would take days, maybe weeks to repair the damage.

The headlights of the car flashed in front of his vision, piercing through his eyes and Derek had to squeeze them shut. That was the only reaction he could manage, before the car's tyres screeched in his ears, too close. He tightened his muscles preparing himself for the impact, but instead, he heard the engine go silent, with a thud.

It was like someone hit pause.

Derek felt Stiles' heavy breath ruffling the tiny hairs on the back of his neck. He felt Stiles' firm grip on his bicep, scratching the skin under his shirt. Stiles' heartbeat was shooting sky high. He smelled scared.

The Omega had just jumped in front of the moving car and now he was scared to get hit by it. Great!

Derek whipped around to face Stiles.

"Have you lost your mind?"

Stiles took a step back, releasing Derek with a start. "I…I knew she wasn't going to stop."

"And still you stood there in the middle of the road, like some statue!" Derek covered the distance, barking at the Omega.

"DO YOU TWO MORONS HAVE A DEATHWISH OR SOMETHING?"

The Alpha's shout was violent, over and above the enraged yelling from Derek. They both jolted to look at the source.

The lady pulled out half of her body outside the window and screamed at them, flashing her red eyes. She immediately dragged her body in, before she sprang out of the car, striding towards them, in frustration.

"If you are planning on dying together, then go somewhere else and not in front of my car. Do you get it?"

Derek just nodded numbly in response, taken aback. The lady was scary, even more than Stiles' nonstop chatter.

"Ma'am," Stiles sprinted after the Alpha, who had turned to go back to her car. "Please, please, please help us," Stiles started, in his perfect shrieking voice. "We missed our bus to Beacon Hills and I have lost my entire luggage there. I don't even have enough money to reach home. Please help us to catch that bus, please?"

The alpha stopped. Her solid, scrutinizing gaze hovered over the two of them. She must be listening to their heartbeats and catching up senses.

"Alright," She approved, finally. "Hop in. You seem desperate to catch that bus, huh, enough to even jump in front of the car. I can follow it till a few stations ahead."

"Yes! Thank you so much." Stiles exclaimed in delight, clapping a hand on Derek's shoulder, unable to control his overwhelming happiness.

Derek growled, looking between Stiles and the hand, which was still resting on Derek's shoulder.

"I'm taking my hands off," Stiles removed his hand with a jerk. "Don't bite me," he added, smirking.

Derek followed the Alpha, pushing past Stiles, bumping their shoulders, on purpose. He still did not understand why he needed to accompany the Omega now that he had gotten help. But his wolf urged him to follow, at least till the boy reached some safe destination, like the stinking bus. Well, not like Derek had any other important plans to take care of, so it all felt…normal.

Derek tossed his bag in the back seat, and sat there. Stiles joined him saying, "You are a lifesaver. You have no idea, Ma'am -"

"Maggie. Call me Maggie," The lady provided. "And no need to thank me. My son is around your age. I can understand." She started the car, looking between the young werewolves from the rear view mirror, smiling. "You kids should really take a pity on your parents sometimes, before going on some adventure at this odd hour."

"We are not on an adventure," Derek protested, barging in between, leaning ahead, hands clamp on the back of the front seat. He felt the weight of Stiles' stare on him, but he ignored him like it was his second nature. "This is a mess. I…We are…Uh…it's a long story," he ended abruptly. It seemed easier to just agree with the woman than explain their inexplicable situation. Adventure? The word didn't even come close to the shitshow that was his life right now. He just watched as the smile on Maggie's face grew wider and he leaned back relaxing into his seat; to take in whatever this shitty night had to offer more.

And he wasn't disappointed.

The boys looked at the speedometer, like it had grown a horn or something.

The reading did not budge beyond twenty five miles per hour. Derek had to blink multiple times, because he couldn't believe his eyes. They were supposed to fucking chase the bus, which was at least thirty minutes ahead of them and currently roaring with a minimum speed of fifty mph.

Right –

And for the first time, the two werewolves in the backseat looked at each other in utter agreement, with the matching scrunch in the eyebrows.

This was not going to work, for sure!

There was a silent conversation, which took place between the two, deciding on how to start and who to start, before Derek clenched his teeth and threatened Stiles to continue, with his eyes.

"So Maggie, looks like you have been travelling for a long now." Stiles started.

"Oh yes, sweetie" Maggie agreed.

"I know. So now that you have given us a ride, we can definitely offer some time for you to relax, a bit, if you...if you letusdrive?"

"Huh?"

"If you let us drive. I mean, you seem tired and -"

"Not you. Do you even have a license?"

"What?" Stiles exclaimed, "I am eighteen. I mean, almost eighteen," Stiles provided totally feeling upset by lady's statement.

"Still no. But you can," She pointed at Derek. The Alpha must be really feeling exhausted and maybe needed a desperate break.

"Oh, he will totally drive," Stiles committed before Derek could open his mouth, like it was his second nature.

Derek shot a glare at him. But Stiles continued convincing the lady, who was already convinced.

"He is an awesome driver. His driving is smooth, like butter and he's got this classy red Ferrari at home -"

"Black Camaro," Derek grunted, in protest.

"Absolutely, Camaro it is, then, a Black one." Stiles winked at Derek, smiling with his typical smirk.

And Derek knew that this was going to be the very long drive.


	5. Not Again!

Stiles rubbed his hands in anxiety as Derek took a seat behind the wheel.

"Yeah buddy, let's go!" he cheered, leaning ahead resting his forearms against the front seat, behind Derek. Stiles was planning on encouraging Derek further. Then, as if Derek had caught on his intentions, the car suddenly filled with the thudding sound of the engine, making Stiles shut his mouth with a click. Derek had turned the ignition on and waited for a moment, to let the fuel pump in.

And then, the car went roaring on the road, already crossing the allowed speed limits, within a few seconds.

"Oh God! Son, just take it slow okay?" Maggie exclaimed when the car took a sharp turn, without compromising on the speed, "I don't want to die so young," she added.

Stiles jerked his head to look at the Alpha, who was pinned on the seat clenching the covers, tight, like a scared kitty. Stiles pursed his lips in an attempt to suppress a laugh. But then he noticed Derek had spun around to shoot Maggie an apologetic look.

"Whoa, big guy, eyes on the road," Stiles let out a panicked shout and like a reflex action, he held Derek's head from back and rotated it to face the front, "I don't want to die so young either," he added, before jerking his hands away when the man growled. The Beta, for some reason, was awkward with the touches.

Stiles took his original position behind Derek and breathed in. The Beta's scent felt soothing over his own jittery feelings. He rested his chin on his forearms and watched as the road passed by ridiculously fast, like in a video game. This was by far his fastest ride ever and he had no regrets. Derek was his only hope. The next rest stop was two towns over, in Sunnydale, and Stiles was counting on Derek to catch the bus there.

"What's your name, kid?" The Alpha's voice cut Stiles' chain of thoughts.

"Oh, haven't I introduced myself yet?" Stiles moved back, in surprise and turned to Maggie. "I'm Stiles," he almost offered his hand, but halted it in the mid-air as he noticed that the lady had a deathly grip on the edge of her seat.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Stiles tilted his head, looking up so fast he almost got whiplash. He heard violent coughing coming from the front seat. Derek had choked on air or something.

"No," Stiles blurted out quickly, squinting his eyes at Maggie. The question was quite random, or maybe the lady was looking for a distraction. After all, arbitrary interrogations sounded more appealing than freaking out at the corner of the back seat of her own car.

"Oh, then is he your soulmate?"

"What? No," Stiles exclaimed. For the first time in his life, he was completely short of words. The car jolted on the turn and Stiles knew that the Beta was having a hard time concentrating as well. Stiles smelled the scent of tension suddenly growing thick in the air.

"Oh, too bad. You two would make a pretty good pair." The lady was not ready to back off and Stiles ears filled with the frantic drumming of Derek's heartbeat.

"Maggie," Stiles squeaked, outstretching his hands in front of her, as if that would stop the advance. "We just met like three hours ago and he's just helping me to catch my bus and can you _please_ slow down with your questions, the guy is kind of having a heart attack here," he pleaded, pointing at Derek.

"But I'm freaking out here, with all his crazy driving and I can't relax, if I don't talk," Maggie retorted, banging her fist on the seat, making Stiles bounce on it. Stiles would totally understand. The lady smelled panicked. "And I'm kinda having second thoughts about letting him drive my baby. I guess, I should take back the wheel -"

"NO!" Stiles exclaimed going all petrified with the thought, itself. "I…uh…I am totally up for talking, or I could sing a lullaby to you, if that would help you to relax -"

"Or…we could put the radio on," Derek interrupted, cutting through Stiles' suggestion.

"My radio is broken..."

"Okay," Stiles let out a heavy sigh, thinking hard. He continued after a moment, quirking his eyebrow at Maggie, mischievously. "Then, would you like to hear it from the man, himself? Baby?" he held a fist in front of his mouth, like a microphone.

Maggie blinked at him, her smell quickly changing from agitated to amused.

And Stiles started singing

' _ **Listen baby…Ooo!'**_

Maggie huffed out a laugh.

"What!" Derek muttered in shock, shaking his head.

' _ **Ain't no mountain high, Ain't no valley low, Ain't no river wide enough baby…'**_

Stiles put his hand-microphone in front of Maggie and she joined him, delightedly.

' _ **If you need me call me, No matter where you are, No matter how far;'**_

' _ **Don't worry baby.**_ '

Stiles sang, high pitched, swaying his body with the rhythm and Maggie responded, matching Stiles' tone and posture.

' _ **Just call my name; I'll be there in a hurry. You don't have to worry.'**_

They both raised their chin up, and howled out –

' _ **OH BABY THERE…**_

 _ **Ain't no mountain high enough,**_

 _ **Ain't no valley low enough,**_

 _ **Ain't no river wide enough,**_

 _ **To keep me from getting to you babe!'**_

"Ooo!" Stiles chirped in excitement. He chanced a glance at Derek.

Derek's gaze was still focused on the road, but fingers drumming on the steering wheel, his lips had a slight upward turn at the corner and Stiles felt something melt in his heart on that sight. It was the first time he had seen the Beta so…relaxed.

And Stiles liked it, liked the eased scent in the surrounding air. His smile spread wide from ear to ear and with a new found exhilaration, Stiles joined Maggie back to complete the song.

This was definitely one of his favourite rides, by far.

"Look, there it is!" Stiles shouted in delight.

They had crossed the towns in an hour – thanks to Derek's crazy driving and Stiles' motivating song marathon. They just had entered the Sunnydale bus station, where they finally located the bus, which had halted for a rest stop.

"Oh, come on. C'mon, c'mon," Stiles desperately thumped the back of front seat, overflowing with excitement of seeing that stinky bus. Finally!

"You can jump out, if you want. That would be faster, I guess," Derek replied, in irritated tone.

Stiles eyed him, scrunching his eyebrows. "Wow, you didn't utter a single word for past hour. It's really nice to see you finally getting your voice back," Stiles retorted, with a smug smile.

Stiles watched Derek roll his eyes, from the rear view mirror, but did not reply. Derek quietly turned the wheel to park the car at the side of the road.

"Yes, we have made it!" Stiles exclaimed quickly getting out of the car, before it had completely stopped. He looked up at the sky, punching the air in ecstasy. He almost thought of running to the bus, but he turned back instead, holding on to his anxiety, just for a while.

The other two werewolves were out of the car, gazing at him.

"Hey Maggie, thank you so so much for giving me the ride," He marched towards her and bent down to quickly peck a kiss on her cheek, surprising the Alpha. "I really had a nice time. You are awesome, you know that?"

Maggie grabbed his face and kissed his forehead. "Me too, kiddo. I am going to miss you."

Stiles took a step back, when Maggie released him. He turned towards Derek, half raising his arms for a hug or something and watched the Beta flinch. Great.

"Thanks man, you are awesome too," Stiles diverted his hand to lightly clap on the man's arm. The Beta relaxed. But Stiles felt something...not right, like he was leaving something behind and he blurted out the first thought that struck to his brain, "You aren't coming with me? You have a ticket till Beacon Hills."

"Really? You seriously want to start that…again?" Derek asked furrowing his eyebrows.

Oh yes, they had this conversation before, in fact, that was one of the reasons he had missed the bus. Stiles scanned those green eyes to check if the Beta was being absolutely sure about his decisions. He looked okay, though, in comparison to how he had looked (and smelled) a few hours back. So, maybe he would be fine. But –

"Just go…" Derek added. Stiles might have been staring at him longer than was comfortable for him. "Before you lose the bus again."

"Hey, don't jinx it." Stiles retorted and took a step back, eyes still fixed on the Beta. He felt another pair of eyes on him. Right. Maggie. She was still there, enjoying younger werewolves exchanging the dialogue. "Bye guys. It was nice meeting you two…and thanks again." Stiles waved at them and finally ran towards the bus.

After a moment, he heard the car engine starting and going distant. He did not turn back but his ears twitched to catch the familiar thudding sound of the Beta's heartbeat. His earthy scent was still thick in the air. The Beta…Shit…Stiles didn't even know his first name. He was with the guy for four fucking hours and after all that bickering and leg pulling and…fun, Stiles hadn't even asked for his name.

Stiles got distracted by the now familiar sounds of snoring and murmuring and wailing. He had reached the bus. Quickly, he got on again, and got to his seat, straight away. His luggage was safe, untouched. He let out the heavy sigh, and wondered if anyone had noticed him missing. Probably not.

He dropped down in his seat, panting, exhausted. The scent of stale air burnt through his lungs with each inhalation. The AC was still off. God! He felt his throat going dry and urged for water. The song marathon with Maggie was finally costing him bad. It had been hours since he had eaten or drunk anything. He opened his bag and quickly searched for a bottle. It was empty.

Stiles let out an exasperated sound, tossing the bottle back inside the bag. He stirred in his seat uncomfortably and swallowed in a failed attempt to wet his throat. That didn't help, at all. The closed bus felt like a trapped oven. He struggled for a few minutes more, before it completely reached beyond his tolerance limits and he bolted off from his seat.

He marched to the door, peeking his head out, to take in the fresh air from outside. The sweet fragrance of flowers, grass, morning dew, some damp garbage, the salty flavour of snacks and... coke. His gaze wavered to track the source of smell.

It was a vending machine.

The machine was standing in the corner of the bus station, just few meters away from the bus. The area was dark, but who would care when your throat is going dehydrated with the unbearable thirst, and when you had a sharp eye sight. Stiles climbed down from the bus, mentally calculating the time required to grab a can of coke or some chips, maybe. Two minutes. Max.

He ran towards the machine taking out the money from his wallet. He pressed his nose against the machine glass, flaring his eyes yellow, to track the items inside.

 _B3 – coke. A2 – Chips_

Quickly, he put in the required amount and pressed B3, first. The can of coke moved forward, but did not fall into the bottom slot.

It got stuck. He pressed the button few more times, but the can did not budge.

 _Damn it_.

Stiles thumped his hand at the side of the machine in irritation and the machine swayed on the spot for a while before crashing on the floor, making a loud thudding sound.

 _SHIT –_

Stiles scanned the place from left to right, holding his breath in.

Luckily, no one came to check it out.

He let out a choked sigh of relief and warily watched the mess he was responsible for. Scattered glass, damaged food items mixed in various flavours of minty fruity soft drinks. The scent tickled his nostrils, hard.

Stiles did not move from the spot, rocking on the heels, thinking hard. The hunger and thirst were totally overpowering all his other senses, right now. And after a second, he quickly bent down to grab the nearest can with one hand, and smashed chips pack with another hand, and moved his legs to sprint away from the place. But-

But one of his legs slipped over the smooth surface of the broken glass. Stiles felt his legs losing the ground contact and his head banged on the corner of the vending machine, hard.

The air filled with the coppery scent of the blood, his blood. Well, Stiles might be the big bad werewolf, but the impact was enough to make him pass out at least for few minutes.

"Bus…not again…" Stiles managed to mumbled, before his vision went completely black.


End file.
